Cornelia Cinna minor
Encyclopedia
Cornelia Cinnilla daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna
(one of the great leaders of the Marian party
), and a sister to suffect consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna, was married to Gaius Julius Caesar
, who would become one of Rome
's greatest conquerors and its dictator. Cinna's political party was called the Populares, and his union with Cornelia identified Caesar with this faction.
Caesar and Cornelia married in 83 BC, likely after the death of Cornelia's father Cinna in 84 BC.
When Lucius Cornelius Sulla
commanded Caesar to divorce Cornelia, the young husband refused to do so and chose rather to be deprived of her fortune and to be proscribed himself. Cornelia bore him his daughter Julia Caesaris
, according to Tacitus
(Annals iii 6) in 82 or 83 BC at the age of 11 or 12.
Cornelia was the matron of Caesar's household in their home at the Subura in Rome for sixteen years. She died in childbirth in 69 BC or 68 BC, during Caesar's quaestor
ship, and left him a daughter who was then fifteen years of age.
Cornelia was 26 years old at her death. Caesar delivered an oration in praise of her from the Rostra
.
In keeping with Roman naming conventions
, Cornelia is known by the feminine form
of her gens
name.
Lucius Cornelius Cinna
Lucius Cornelius Cinna was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelii gens....
(one of the great leaders of the Marian party
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
), and a sister to suffect consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna, was married to Gaius Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, who would become one of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
's greatest conquerors and its dictator. Cinna's political party was called the Populares, and his union with Cornelia identified Caesar with this faction.
Caesar and Cornelia married in 83 BC, likely after the death of Cornelia's father Cinna in 84 BC.
When Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
commanded Caesar to divorce Cornelia, the young husband refused to do so and chose rather to be deprived of her fortune and to be proscribed himself. Cornelia bore him his daughter Julia Caesaris
Julia (daughter of Julius Caesar)
Julia Caesaris , 83 or 82 BC-54 BC, was the daughter of Gaius Julius Caesar the Roman dictator, by his first wife, Cornelia Cinna, and his only child in marriage. Julia became the fourth wife of Pompey the Great and was renowned for her beauty and virtue.-Life:Julia was born around 83 BC–82 BC...
, according to Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
(Annals iii 6) in 82 or 83 BC at the age of 11 or 12.
Cornelia was the matron of Caesar's household in their home at the Subura in Rome for sixteen years. She died in childbirth in 69 BC or 68 BC, during Caesar's quaestor
Quaestor
A Quaestor was a type of public official in the "Cursus honorum" system who supervised financial affairs. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official whereas, with the autocratic government of the Roman Empire, quaestors were simply appointed....
ship, and left him a daughter who was then fifteen years of age.
Cornelia was 26 years old at her death. Caesar delivered an oration in praise of her from the Rostra
Rostra
The Rōstra was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to those assembled in between...
.
In keeping with Roman naming conventions
Roman naming conventions
By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...
, Cornelia is known by the feminine form
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
of her gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
name.